CANOPY BLOG

Tree walk helps high school students de-Stress

By Canopy Team on January 16, 2017

Campus Tree Walk Helps Local High School Students to De-Stress during Finals

During the week of final exams at Mountain View High School in Mountain View, students were invited to attend a Tree Walk around the school campus to appreciate the quiet beauty of the trees and the many benefits they bring to our well-being and the environment.

The walk was a pilot run offered by Canopy as part of Spartans Pause week, a student wellness program organized by the Parent Teacher Student Association to encourage students to take a break from the stress of their exams. 

Amidst the buzz of lunchtime on this crisp autumn day, a small group of enthusiastic students gathered under the Coastal Redwoods (Sequoia sempervirens) to begin the walk with Natalie Brubaker, the Education Manager at Canopy.

As they walked from a Valley Oak (Quercus lobata), to a Camphor (Cinnamomum camphora), to a London Plane (Platanus acerifolia), Natalie shared about the special characteristics of each species. Students were invited to mindfully observe, touch, and smell the leaves, fruits, trunks of the trees, and contemplate on how humans have interacted with trees throughout history.

Every few trees, Natalie discussed the role of trees in the carbon cycle, the human activities that contribute carbon in the form of greenhouse gases to the atmosphere, and the essential work of trees to capture and store carbon.

Trees are indeed unsung heroes and our faithful allies as we face the challenges of climate change!

As the the lunch period ended, the students had a chance to take their mind off their hectic schoolwork and enjoy the beautiful nature surrounding their classrooms. They walked away with smiles on their faces, almost as if they now shared a secret bond with the trees after the relaxing and informative tree walk. 

Though the tree walk was short, we managed to bring the students closer to nature and provide them with a deeper appreciation of the benefits of trees in their school, neighborhood, and global environments.  We can’t wait to work with more students in 2017!

Check out the Mountain View High School Tree Walk here!

Stay tuned next post for more on the benefits of trees on school campuses!